Breaking the Deal
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "Your answer?" he demanded and before I could ask him what he was nattering on about, he gestured to the parchment that lay forgotten on the table top. "Are you going to go with me or not?" "Isn't it obvious?" Rolling my eyes, I realised that he'd released my bag and promptly picked it up and slung it over my shoulder. "No."
1. Breaking the Deal

Salazar, I hated Defence.

I didn't hate it because I couldn't stand the subject; on the contrary, loved the subject. It wasn't as if I hated my classmates either. I got along with most of them just fine. And neither did I have an issue with my professor – except, I guess she was the cause of the reason I hated attending DADA classes? After all, she had been the one to assign us our desk partners at the beginning of the school year and she'd just happened to give me the worst possible partner. Teddy bloody Lupin had walked over with that irritatingly charming smile of his and settled himself next to me with a "Morning, Eisnor," following the announcement and I instantly knew what I was letting myself in for.

The Hufflepuff, a shoo-in for the role of Head Boy, was bright. So bright that he needed to use little to no effort to maintain an O average and I was _not_ one of those people. I needed to pay attention to lessons and revise to maintain my EE grade. But of course, he wouldn't understand that. No, instead he was _constantly_ trying to get my attention so he had someone to entertain him and rescue him from his boredom.

Today was no different. I was so extremely tempted to burn the piece of paper that he continued to slide towards me. And if I could be certain that it wouldn't have gained the professor's attention then I would have done it in a heartbeat. Perhaps I'd go as far as to singe that bloody Hufflepuff tie too?

But because I knew the professor would see, I continued to ignore Lupin no matter how insistently he continued to nudge the piece of parchment towards me. Burning his tie was becoming _very_ tempting, maybe it would even be worth the points I'd ultimately end up losing the house. Except I'd already lost the house 50 points just last week for sneaking out after curfew and being caught by five professors in one night. So perhaps it wasn't worth it after all.

Lupin cleared his throat pointedly, shoving the paper over to me with unnecessary force. Turning to him with a glare, I faltered slightly when I realised that for once again he'd changed his hair to that godawful blue. And Salazar, it suited him.

Bloody handsome Lupin.

Narrowing my eyes for effect, I turned back to my notes and continued where I had left off. I didn't get very far before he decided to bug me once again. About halfway through next sentence, Lupin reached out to snag my quill from my hand and I stifled an outraged gasp. When I finally turned my full attention back to the boy, he handed my quill back to me without a word and gestured to the paper.

With a sigh, I glanced at the parchment to see what was so important. Merlin, I swore I could feel my eye begin to twitch.

 **Hi**

Glancing at Lupin, I narrowed my eyes at the innocent smile he sent my way. Goodness, I could practically see the mischief hidden deep in those eyes. _Right._ Picking up my quill, I penned my reply and pushed the parchment back towards him.

Lupin read over it instantly, a small chuckle leaving his lips as he read my ' _Piss off!'._ Turning his head towards me, he met my waiting eyes and playfully raised an eyebrow at me. His amusement grew tenfold when I frowned outright at him. As Lupin moved to scribble something under my ever-eloquent reply, I glanced back at my notes. With a huff, I realised that I'd fallen behind.

But that was the least of my problems. Lupin spurred on by my reply to him, slid the parchment back towards me. Abandoning my desire to ignore him, I cast a curious glance at what he'd written.

 **Temper, temper. No need to be so rude, Eisnor**

Rolling my eyes, I cast aside the childish note exchange and settled for leaning towards him. Hissing quietly under my breath, I demanded, "Is there a reason that you're bugging me more than usual?"

Clearly, I hadn't been quiet enough as our professor sent a sharp glance in the direction of our shared table. Moving swiftly away from Lupin, I pretended to return to my work but instead watched from the corner of my eye as Lupin picked up his quill and began to write under his last reply.

 **Go to Hogsmeade with me?**

I stared at the short question, doubting my eyes for a good minute. Blinking slowly, I picked up my own quill and instantly gave him the first answer that came to my head. Leaning in close to me, he read over my shoulder as I wrote.

 _Have you lost your marbles, Lupin?_

There was no need to pass the parchment back to him as he began to write the moment I lifted my quill from the page. The strokes of his quill were quick, abrupt and he wrote for longer this time.

 **No. I haven't. Look I need your help to get a crazy sixth year off my back. If she thinks I'm taken she might back off – you girls have that bloody girl code that the girls in my family keep going on about. I've tried everything else, I'm DESPERATE, Eisnor.**

Coming to the end of his message, I scoffed incredulously. By the time I had finished writing my answer, the bell had rung, and I rose to my feet. Tidying my things away, I watched as Lupin took a moment to read over my response.

 _You sure do think a lot of yourself, Lupin._

But before I could step away from the table, his hand shot out to take my bag hostage. He held firm, despite how harshly I tried to pull my bag away from him, he wouldn't budge. With a sigh, I gave up trying to pull my bag away and finally looked at him.

"What?" I asked, cocking my hips.

"Your answer?" he demanded and before I could ask him what he was nattering on about, he gestured to the parchment that lay forgotten on the table top. "Are you going to go with me or not?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rolling my eyes, I realised that he'd released my bag and promptly picked it up and slung it over my shoulder. "No."

His mouth dropped open in protest and before he could gear up and use that brilliant mind of his to come up with more arguments, I turned and stalked out of the classroom. Salazar, if Lupin really did have a crazy stalker why was I going to endanger myself and get caught up in that? I knew first hand just how vicious sixth-year girls could be. Especially considering I was one myself.

* * *

Rushing through the corridor, I kept throwing glances at my watch and prayed that I wouldn't be late for Charms. Professor Boot might have been one of the most laid-back professors in the entire the school, but he still didn't tolerate late students. But honestly, I'd have had no reason to be rushing if I hadn't forgotten about the Charms essay that I'd left lying innocently on my bed this morning. Remembering that I'd forgotten the essay I had left lunch early and practically ran to the common room and now I was left to run to the Charms classroom to make sure I wasn't late.

I turned the corner, only for my steps to halt instantly at the sight I'd come across. Michaels – a sixth year Ravenclaw – had managed to back Lupin into one of the corners of the corridor. She looked _far_ too pleased with herself for successfully getting some alone time with the Hufflepuff in what she knew was a practically abandoned hallway, one that was rarely used by the students. Merlin, _I_ wouldn't have used it if I wasn't running late.

And whilst I didn't believe in Divination or any of that malarkey, maybe this was a sign that I was supposed to intercede and help him with his current issue?

Walking slowly through the corridor, towards the oblivious pair, and watched as Michaels reached out to play with the end of Lupin's tie. I was certain that I'd never seen Lupin look as uncomfortable as he did in that moment. Pulling his tie away from Michaels, he pressed him into the corner, trying to increase the distance between the pair of them and I sighed, watching as Michaels picked up his tie once again. Why couldn't Lupin just tell her to her face that he'd rather snog the giant squid than snog her? Why did he have to care about her feelings when she clearly wasn't thinking about his?

And Merlin, why was it that I was never able to ignore these sorts of situations?

I took a moment to second guess my decision but by then I had already crossed most of the distance towards them. Letting out a deep breath, I tightened my hold on my bag for a moment and gathered my strength. Salazar, I couldn't believe I was doing this.

"Oi!" I called out loudly, making Michaels spring slightly away from Lupin. The pair of them turned towards the sound of my voice and I was surprised at just how blatant Lupin's relief was at my appearance.

"Eisnor," he called out, even his _voice_ sounded relieved. Was Michaels really that oblivious to his feelings or was she content to play dumb until she managed to persuade him into taking her on a date?

"What are you doing?" I demanded, stalking the rest of the distance towards them.

 _Why_ was I doing this? It would have been so very simple to just turn around and act as if I hadn't seen a thing. But no, I just _had_ to get involved. And even worse than my inability to mind my own business was the fact that it seemed like I was going to be late for Charms!

"What are _you_ doing here?" Michaels questioned when it became obvious that Lupin had appeared to lose his voice and was instead trying to communicate through his eyes.

"I _can't_ believe I'm doing this," I hissed so Lupin could hear me as I edged closer to the pair of them.

Michaels drew a little further away from Lupin at my appearance, looking over my shoulder at the silent boy. But I didn't pay any attention to the Ravenclaw. I only had eyes for Lupin who was looking at me in confusion. For someone so unnecessarily smart, he sure was _slow._

"I thought you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me?" I questioned pointedly, watching as he furrowed his eyebrows at me. "Clearly you mustn't want to if you're letting random girls back you into abandoned corners of the castle."

I widened my eyes slightly, hoping he'd understand what my eyes were trying to convey. But all he did was utter an unintelligent, "Huh?"

"Honestly," I snapped, turning to Michaels who _still_ had a hold on his tie. Swatting her hand away, I made her drop his tie and instead took it in my hands. Tugging on it, I made him bring his head closer to mine and asked meaningfully, " _Remember_ in Defence?"

His eyes widened, suddenly remember. "Oh yeah, – course. _Sorry,_ Eisnor."

 _Oh, you will be._ Fisting his tie, I began to pull him away from a stunned Michaels. He followed without a word and I began to mutter under my breath.

"God, you're always causing trouble for me Lupin. We're going to be late for Charms now and if Boot gives us a detention then I'm going to hex the life out of you." Once we were out of earshot, I dropped his tie and began to speed walk the remaining distance to the charms classroom. He walked leisurely at my side, hands tucked into his robe pockets.

"Thanks, Eisnor."

"Don't think that just a thank you makes you even Lupin," I cut in, shooting him a look. "You owe me."

"Of course," he agreed easily. "Whatever you want."

I thought for a moment before turning to glance at him properly. My eyes focused on the badge pinned to his robes.

"You're covering my rounds," I informed him, lifting my nose in the air as we finally approached the Charms classroom. "For the next two weeks at that."

* * *

Once the Hogsmeade weekend arrived, I was filled with the overwhelming urge to cancel my agreement with Lupin. But I had given him my word, had promised to help him with his issue with Michaels and I couldn't very well go and change my mind at the last minute. And whilst spending the day with Lupin might not have been the way I wanted to spend my Saturday, at least this wasn't a real date. There was no reason for me to worry about offending Lupin and I intended to remain as frank as I usually was.

The moment I had left my friend's side and joined Lupin where he was waiting beside the drop-off point for the carriages, I began to lead him towards Tomes and Scrolls. He followed me without a word, walking by my side and he seemed to be watching me for a long moment.

"What is it?" I asked, stepping through the door when he held it open for me.

"Nothing," he denied, even as a teasing smile played around the corner of his mouth. "You just mustn't go to Hogsmeade often – as a date anyway."

"And what makes you think that?" I questioned lightly, letting the smell of new books relax me as I headed over towards the bookshelves where the fiction books were stored.

He trailed after me, brushing a finger over the spines of the book he passed. "Well, for one thing, _this_ is the first place you wanted to go."

Picking a book out and reading its blurb, I looked up at Lupin from beneath my lashes as I admitted easily, "You're right."

His eyebrows rose in surprise at how readily I agreed. Only, when I began to smirk at him, he became a little more on guard. Waiting for what I clearly wanted to say, he pulled a book from the shelf and pretended to be immersed in its back cover.

"The best fun is in finding the abandoned parts of the school Lupin," I informed him casually, trying not to snicker when his shoulders tensed. He looked up from the book, meeting my eyes and I wiped any traces of amusement from my features and carried on seriously. "I mean it – the real fun is in seeing how far you can go before someone comes to disturb you."

His face was a picture of shock. Eyes widening dramatically, Lupin blinked slowly as he tried his very best to find out whether I was pulling his leg or not. He tightened his hold on the book as if fearing that it would slip through his fingers and I could have sworn that his hair was beginning to lose its blue colour and slowly tinging pink. And if that was the case, well – then they would match his red ears.

"If only I had a camera," I said through my laughter, turning back to the book in my hand before promptly deciding that it wasn't for me. Pulling another from the shelf, I turned to Lupin when he reached out to pull it from my hand. "What?"

"Are you being serious?" he questioned, still trying to come to terms with what I'd told him.

"What can I say," I began, grinning mischievously and taking the book from him, "the Slytherin dungeons can get cold at night. We have to do _something_ to stay warm at night and a warming charm is just too _boring._ "

He rolled his eyes, finally realising that I was playing with him and huffed a little, nudging me with his shoulder. Merlin, the way he was acting anyone would think he wanted my words to be true.

"Are you getting that one?" he asked, gesturing to the book held casually in my hand.

"This one?" I looked at the blurb once again, "I think so."

"Pass it here then." At the odd look I threw his way, he explained, "I'll carry it for you."

"It's _one_ book," I said dully, "I think I can manage to carry one book by myself, don't you?"

"Just pass it here," he insisted, pulling the book away from me. "You don't have a single romantic bone in your body Eisnor."

"Since when has carrying _one_ book been a romantic gesture Lupin?" I shot back as I led him towards the till at the front of the shop.

Lupin dropped into step beside me, talking about anything and everything and whilst I tried to pay attention to him I couldn't. Instead, I paid attention to the way a figure darted behind one of the shelves as we passed as if to hide out of sight. Casting a curious glance back to the girl who was busy hiding, I instantly made a face. Honestly, did Michaels have nothing better to do with her Saturday? Did she have no pride? Why was she revolving around a man who clearly didn't care about her enough, to be honest with her and was instead trying to trick her?

"Eisnor?" Lupin dropped back to my side, putting a gentle hand on my elbow and bringing me from my thoughts, "Are you alright?"

"Fine – I'm fine," I assured him as we joined the queue and waited for out turn.

After ringing up the bill, I struggled futilely against Lupin before conceding to let him carry my bag for me. Stepping out from the warm shop and into the cold winter air, I shuddered slightly and burrowed my face deeper into my scarf. Lupin spotting this tutted and held out his hand towards me. Looking between the outstretched hand and his face, I raised an eyebrow.

"Give me your hand," he said slowly as if speaking to a child.

"Why?"

"For warmth – obviously. Why else?" Although I wanted to snort at his bold lie and demand to know just how warm holding hands could possibly make me, I held his hand anyway and began to walk closer to his side. Interlinking my fingers through his, I wondered whether he'd also managed to see Michaels before she'd ducked out of sight.

"Where are we off to know then?" I asked, leaning against his side and peering up at him.

"Somewhere close," Lupin answered, looking out across the street before casting a glance towards me. "You look like you're going to freeze if you stay out here for much longer. What about the Three Broomsticks?"

Shivering after a particularly biting gust of wind, I nodded and mumbled, "Lead the way."

The moment we entered the entered the Three Broomsticks, Lupin instantly led me to one of the empty tables before disappearing to order our drinks. I would have demanded to know what made him believe he had the right to think he knew what to order for me, if I hadn't overheard him placing an order for two warm butterbeers. Merlin, nothing sounded better.

Shrugging out of my coat, I cast a glance around the Three Broomsticks and briefly realised that I was looking for any sign of Michaels. If the girl had been able to follow the pair of us into Tomes and Scrolls, then maybe she would continue to do the same. But, when there was no sign of her, I came to the conclusion that _finally,_ the truth had gotten through to her. This farce wouldn't have to last much longer.

When Lupin returned to the table it was with two warm pints of butterbeer in his hands. Setting them on the table, he sat himself down onto the chair across from me. Following my lead Lupin shrugged out of his coat and shook his head slightly, his hair moving through the movement. I straightened in my seat.

Was that –

Leaning forward suddenly, I reached out to touch the earring in his ear. He drew back slightly, a little surprised by the action and I caught his ears tinging red at the contact.

"What is it?" he asked, clearing his throat slightly.

"That's fake, isn't it?" I asked with furrowed brows.

He shook his head slowly. "I got it done over the summer – my nan found out and grounded me for the rest of the holiday, but it was worth it." Taking a sip of his butterbeer, he questioned, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," I assured him quietly, wrapping my hands around my glass and using its heat to warm my hands. "I just hadn't noticed it until now."

"I had no idea I held so much of your attention," he said amused, rolling his eyes before his gaze settled onto my hands that were slowly warming up.

Tutting slightly, he reached out to take both of my hands between his to warm them up quicker. The sudden gesture silenced any response I could have given him and instead my eyes were settled onto the pair of hands that easily encased my own. My eyes were suddenly fascinated with the way Teddy's – Lupin's thumbs rubbed softly against the back of my hands.

"What?" he asked, sensing the sudden change in my mood. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I assured him, raising my eyes to his. "I was just wondering when you were planning on giving me my hands back. I _do_ plan to drink this butterbeer."

"Ah, right." He reddened under my eyes, abruptly letting go of my hands which I brought back to my side. Picking up the glass, I raised it to my lips as he murmured a quiet, "Sorry."

"No problem," I muttered, knowing that I was in trouble.

This entire Hogsmeade trip had just caused hassle for me. I was probably now on Michaels' hit list and now I'd had a rather unwelcome realisation of my feelings for the Hufflepuff settled across from me. And all of this was simply because I couldn't mind my own business.

* * *

Wasn't our deal supposed to have ended after a single trip to Hogsmeade? At least that was what I had thought, what I had been led to believe and truthfully, I wasn't quite sure of just when I had volunteered to fake date Teddy. Why one fake date had turned into a fake relationship, I didn't know. But what I _did_ know was that fake dating Teddy wasn't so bad. He wasn't one of those boyfriends – albeit a fake one – who liked to attach himself to you by the lips and he knew how to keep his wandering hands to himself. He didn't go out of his way to latch himself to my side and instead did a lot of little things which never failed to make me smile. If this had been a real relationship, then every single one of his actions would have had me falling deeper for him.

It was just terrible luck that despite this being a fake relationship, my heart had managed to fall for him. Without any conscious effort, I was already falling deeper into Teddy's charm and I blamed this all on that Hogsmeade date. There must have been something in the air, some lingering mist from a potion that managed to delude my brain into forgetting how annoying the Hufflepuff could be.

Or maybe it was the way he always left books on reserve for me? Whenever I popped into the library I'd find a small stack of books left reserved in my name and once I'd checked them out and flicked to the front page, his name was always listed as the student to have checked the book out before I did. I'd questioned him about it once and he'd just returned casually that he'd found them interesting, so he thought I'd return the sentiment.

Or if I was busy studying he knew not to disturb me and would instead leave little notes on top of my work. Without fail the notes would make me smile and not that I would ever tell him, but I'd found myself storing each of the notes away to look at later.

I walked beside Teddy as we walked to our Defence class. Just minutes ago, I had emerged from the Slytherin common room to find him waiting for me – another new occurrence. He simply dropped into step beside me and watched as I waved goodbye to my friends as we headed our separate ways for our lessons. Tuning back into the sound of Teddy's voice, I listened as he talked about something one of the first year Hufflepuffs had managed to do the common room only to startle slightly when he reached out to take my hand. Glancing up at him with surprised eyes, I waited for him to react in some way to his action, but he didn't. Instead, he just linked his fingers through mine and continued to stare ahead as he walked.

Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I looked back to the front and continued to walk towards our next class. We turned a corner into the next corridor and my eyes instantly settled on the sixth year with who was walking with a group of her friends. Michaels, walking to her next lesson, was smiling and talking to her friends and glanced casually around the corridor. The moment her eyes settled onto the pair of us, they clouded over slightly and hurt coloured her features.

Even though I felt guilty for hurting the other witch, I leaned closer to Teddy's side and briefly wondered how he could have known that we were going to run into the other witch. Casting a surprised glance down at me, Teddy wrapped an arm around my shoulder to pull me closer into his side as we passed by the group of sixth year Ravenclaws.

It seemed like there would be no end to Teddy's surprising behaviour as he held me to his side, pressing a kiss to my temple as we crossed the threshold of the classroom. Right, this was going _too_ far.

Stepping quickly away from his side, I dropped his arm and completely ignored the slightly hurt glance he threw in my direction. He had no reason to be looking at me like that, not when we both knew the truth about our 'relationship'.

"Michaels isn't in this class," I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear as we walked towards our shared desk. "There isn't a reason to be carrying this on in here."

"I'm sorry – _what?_ " he asked incredulously, watching as I settled into my seat without so much as a single glance in his direction.

His question hung in the air unanswered, and it would remain unanswered as our lesson began and I turned my attention away from him. It was the first Defence lesson since the beginning of the year where he hadn't attempted to bug me. And for some inexplicable reason, that hurt.

* * *

My simple action of pushing Teddy away from me had caused a rift between the pair of us, one that I wasn't sure how to fix. We still spent increasing amounts of time together, but it remained there, beneath the surface and it seemed to threaten to only grow wider if either of us commented on it. So, we didn't, we allowed it to remain there, separating the pair of us. And as I sat in my corner of the library, my eyes rose from the open textbook before me to settle onto the approaching Hufflepuff who, for the last few days had seemed to hover around me without possessing the courage to join me.

But today was different. He crossed the space to my table and settled into the seat beside me. We worked in silence, side by side. Except it was anything but comfortable. The silence was stifling, and I licked my bottom lip, casting a cautious glance towards Teddy and wondering if I should say something to him. Only, what could I have possibly said to him?

Seeming to pick up on my internal turmoil, Teddy set about attempting to distract me from my work in a way that was very reminiscent of our relationship before this stupid deal got in the way. Just watching him pick up a quill to scribble a note for me to read was enough to ease the tension that wrapped around my lungs and allowed me to breathe easier. Teddy slid the parchment towards me and I fought a smile, pretending to turn my attention back to my abandoned essay.

"What do you want?" I asked, successfully managed to sound disgruntled by his presence.

"Is it so much trouble to ask you to pay some attention to me?" he whined quietly, abandoning the notes when he realised I wasn't going to bite. Instead, he leaned his head on his hand and turned his entire body towards me.

"Stop trying to distract me from my work," I chastised.

"Pay attention to your boyfriend," he pleaded, not seeing the way my quill scratched across my parchment at the word boyfriend.

Eyeing him from the corner of my eyes, I complained internally at his use of the word. He was _not_ my boyfriend and he knew that, so what was it going to take for him to stop using that word to describe himself? It was as if he'd made it his personal goal to drop that word into every conversation we had shared in the past few days. It was growing old – and fast at that.

"I need to finish this point," I protested quietly, using my wand to erase the last mistake I had made and continuing from where I had left off.

I tried to pay attention to my essay, really, I did. But my attention was instead fascinated with the way he leaned in close to me to read my work from over my shoulder. Propping his chin on my shoulder, he scanned the word covering the parchment and if he noticed the way I had stiffened at the sudden contact then he made no comment on it. Especially not when his arm came around the back of my chair.

He called my name gently – my first name – and though I knew I shouldn't have, I turned to look at him. Taking in the mild confusion painted across my features, Teddy froze for no more than a second before he was leaning in close to me to take my lips in a kiss. It took me by surprise, making my lips part in a silent gasp and he drew back for a moment and I expected him to apologise, to say something. But he didn't. Instead, he leaned in to kiss me once again and I almost returned it until I remembered.

Freezing against him, I remembered that this was the one line that I promised myself I wasn't going to cross with him, not for a fake relationship. Coming to my senses, my hands pushed at his shoulders and he easily pulled away from me, looking at me in surprise. His hands, which had at some point wandered to my waist, squeezed me gently as if to reassure me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, watching me shake my head as I pulled his hands away from me.

Scrambling to pack my things quickly, I cleared my throat and spoke abruptly, "I can't do this Teddy. Salazar, _we_ can't do this. You – you don't need to cover my rounds anymore." Shoving my things into my bag, I glanced at the boy who was watching me in shock, trying to catch up with everything I was saying and doing. "Let's just say we're even now, you don't owe me anything."

He tried to make sense of my words, rising to his feet as if to stop me from running away. But that was the wrong thing to do. I became skittish, quickening my movements and hurrying away from him. Merlin, I knew I was practically running away from him and usually my pride would have severely chastised me, but I just couldn't bring myself to care at the moment.

"What are you talking about?!" he exclaimed loudly from where he was still stood beside the table and I didn't dare look back to him as I continued to speed out of the library.

Just as I stepped into the corridor, I distantly heard the librarian begin to tell him off and took a deep breath. He would remain occupied for a while, trying to placate the older witch and the took the time to calm myself. Before the library doors could open and I could spot blue hair, I shot off in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

* * *

My next set of rounds found me waiting outside the Hufflepuff common room for my partner; one of the seventh year Hufflepuff prefects. I didn't have to wait long in the corridor when the entrance of the common room opened and out stepped one of the prefects. Except it was the wrong prefect. Teddy stepped out into the corridor, looking around and upon finding me waiting, he walked over to me with practised casual strides. If he noticed my surprise, he made no comment on it.

"Ready to go?" he asked, tucking his hands into his robe pockets and I was so tempted to shake my head and tell him that no, in fact, I _wasn't_ ready to go anywhere with him.

"What happened to Ibori?" I asked, peering around him as if expecting the common room to open once again and for Ibori to step out.

"She asked me to switch rounds with her," he explained, following me as I set off to begin our rounds.

"Let's just get this over with then," I muttered quietly, wand held at my side as I walked. It wasn't like I was actually going to have to use it tonight, but somehow just holding it in my hands made me feel much calmer. And if Teddy decided to get all touchy feely again then I _could_ always send a stinging hex his way.

He didn't comment on my slightly confrontational attitude and instead, we continued to walk through the castle. At one point the silence grew so stifling that I wished that we'd manage to find one of the students that snuck out after curfew just so we actually had something to do. Evidently, Teddy shared my sentiments as he stopped suddenly in his steps, making me look back curiously at him. He met my eyes head on, looking like he wanted to say something before deciding against it.

With a sigh, I crossed my arms and spoke up before he could, "Why are you making this so much more awkward than it needs to be?"

"Me?" he questioned incredulously, eyebrows rising and a scoff slipping past his lips. "I'm not the one that made this awkward. That was all you, Eisnor."

I sighed, realising that he might have had a point. But that didn't mean that I was ready to talk about this. Clearing my throat, I said firmly, "We don't need to talk about this."

"We don't?" He mirrored my body language; crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes onto me. "Oh, I disagree, this is something we _really_ need to talk about."

"Teddy," I whined a little petulantly. An amused smile almost wiped the annoyance from his features, but he stopped it quickly.

"Let me make something clear to you Eisnor," he stated confidently, "I _wanted_ to go to Hogsmeade with you."

"Yeah I know," I agreed, rolling my eyes. "You wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me to get Michaels off your back – I _was_ there when you asked me."

"Actually," he started quietly, "that was more of a side effect – a secondary reason, if you will."

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" I asked, with a shake of my head, "You're not making a sense Lupin."

"I wanted to go with you," he confessed yet again, crossing the slight distance between us until he was standing directly in front of me. His abrupt admission took me by surprise and silenced me which seemed to have been his intention. "I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with you, and I just kind of assumed that you would figure that out."

" _How_ was I supposed to figure that out?" I demanded heatedly when I realised that he was being honest. He shuffled slightly under my eyes, appearing chastised. "How on earth was I supposed to know that if you never actually _told_ me, Teddy?"

"The same way I knew," he suggested hesitantly, clearing his throat when I raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "When I held your hand at Hogsmeade – the way you reacted – I could tell from that alone."

I rolled my eyes, moving to walk past him to continue with our rounds when he dodged around me to block my path. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say before sighing.

"Look," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair, "I know I'm doing this all wrong and right now everything I'm saying seems to be annoying you more and more. So just – let's try one more time?"

I pretended to think on it for a while, noticing the way he grew more and more impatient the longer I thought on it. And really, it wasn't like I was spending _minutes_ thinking, it was only a matter of seconds, but I eventually nodded anyway. The small gesture had him grinning, but I walked away from him before he could see the way my entire face was beginning to turn red. He jogged after me, dropping into step beside me and casually dropped an arm around my shoulder. When I didn't immediately shrug it off, he grew more confident and tugged me into his side.

"So," he drew the word out, making me look up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"That thing you mentioned about abandoned corridors," he said as if the words were of no significance. "Did you mean it?"

"Abandoned corridors?" I murmured, grinning mischievously when I remembered what he was talking about. Meeting his expectant eyes, I shrugged out from under his arms and hurried away from him.

He walked quickly, easily catching up to me and catching my arm. "Well? Did you mean it?"

"Wouldn't you like to find out," I teased with a grin that had him laughing.


	2. Epilogue: 3 Years Later

_3 YEARS LATER_

A knock on my bedroom disturbed me, making me look up from the essay I was currently typing up on my laptop. Salazar, if there was one thing I'd missed from the muggle world whilst studying at Hogwarts, it was the technology. As soon as the magical world figured out how to stop technology and magic interfering with one another, that was the moment I moved my television into my parent's home. Thankfully, one advantage about studying in a muggle university was that I was far enough away from magic to be able to use all the newest devices around. As long as I didn't cast a spell in the same room as the TV, then it wouldn't blow up and I wouldn't have to explain anything to my flatmate.

Pushing away from my desk with a sigh, I stretched my arms above my head and let out a pleased groan when the pressure in my shoulders eased slightly. Rising to my feet and walking to the door, I opened the door to find my flatmate standing on the other side with a teasing grin playing at her lips.

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously.

"You've got a guest at the door," she explained, making me frown slightly.

"Me?" I questioned, walking out of my room and towards the front door.

"You've got good taste," Eve teased, hurrying me with a haste that made me want to stop and think about just who it was that had her so excited.

The question answered itself shortly when I found Teddy standing by the front door, looking around my flat with curious eyes. My eyes raked over him, narrowing in on the overnight bag resting on the floor beside his feet.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you," I called out slowly as I approached him, "but what on earth are you doing here, Lupin?"

He frowned playfully, eyes lighting up as I drew closer to him. "You haven't seen me in _months,_ Eisnor, and _that_ is the first thing you say to me?"

"Don't be so dramatic," I admonished gently, closing the distance between us and rising onto my toes to wrap my arms around his neck.

He held me close against him, hugging me tight and letting out a content sigh. When I moved to pull back and out of his arms, Teddy continued to hold me against him and I laughed slightly before firmly pulling away from him. glancing over at Eve, I flushed slightly when I saw the way she was looking between the two of us.

"About time you remembered my presence," she teased, as she picked up her bags that were waiting in the front room. "I'm going home for the weekend, so you kids enjoy yourself."

"We will," Teddy assured her, holding the front door open for her and wincing slightly when I elbowed him sharply. " _What?_ We will – that's all I said."

"What are you really doing here?" I asked, removing my wand from the holster strapped around my waist which I made sure to keep hidden from Eve. Levitating Teddy's bag towards my room, I glanced back quickly at my boyfriend to make sure that he was following after me.

"Can't it be enough that I miss you?" he asked, quickening his steps until he was walking directly behind me. He reached out to place his hands on my hips as we finally made it to my room and I placed his bag on the bed.

"It can," I agreed, removing his hands from my hips and holding them in both of mine. "But it's not the truth."

"It's your birthday tomorrow," he murmured quietly as if he didn't want me to hear them. His eyes lowered to our joined hands and I watched his ears turn red, but his hair remained unchanged. His control was improving – but where was the fun in that?

"That's so _sweet_ ," I cooed teasingly, rising to my toes to press a kiss to his jaw. He lifted his head, meeting my eyes and rolling his own even as the red colour seeped into his cheeks – and his hair. "Is that why you're staying for the weekend. Completely uninvited, mind you?"

He nodded again, managing to compose himself a little more when I pulled my hands away from his and set about cleaning up my room. Of course, he just _had_ to decide to visit on one of the _very_ few days when I hadn't tidied up around here.

"Why is it so hard for you to admit that you missed me?" he asked with a pout and I rolled my eyes.

"I missed _parts_ of you," I muttered, knowing he'd hear me. When he started to snicker, I looked back to him with raised eyebrows and found him watching me suggestively. It took me a moment to realise what I'd said and when I did, I snagged one of the pillows from my bed and threw it at him. "Your _eyes,_ you bloody pervert."

"I didn't say anything," he insisted, holding his hands up to claim his blamelessness. "Whatever conclusion you've come up with was all you, Eisnor. It's hardly my fault you're so dirty minded."

"Oh please," I scoffed, watching as he approached me. Recognising the look in his eyes, I drew back slightly and asked, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I've just missed you," he protested, the picture of innocence. "Now come here."

"I have an essay I need to finish," I objected even as his arms came around me to draw me into his chest. He silenced my further protests with a kiss that I did nothing to lean away from.

It was really no surprise that I didn't finish the essay until _after_ Teddy had left the following Monday morning.


End file.
